KYOTO, JAPAN - FEBRUARY 9: Ichimame, an 19-year-old maiko or young geisha, sits at a computer to write her internet blog at a teahouse in Kamishichiken on February 9, 2007 in Kyoto, Japan. A trainee geisha, 19-year-old Ichimame is writing an Internet blog (http://ichi.dreamblog.jp) which is giving a rare insight into a secretive world of geishas, opening a small window onto a world shrouded in mystery and often misunderstood, and at the same time providing inspiration for teenagers thinking about following in her footsteps. Kamishichiken is the oldest of the five entertainment areas in Kyoto, where there are estimated to be about 280 geiko and maiko compared to tens of thousands of geisha in Japan at their peak in the 1920s. Getty Images logo Getty Images 29 months ago

KYOTO, JAPAN - FEBRUARY 9: Ichimame, an 19-year-old maiko or young geisha, sits at a computer to write her internet blog at a teahouse in Kamishichiken on February 9, 2007 in Kyoto, Japan. A trainee geisha, 19-year-old Ichimame is writing an Internet blog (http://ichi.dreamblog.jp) which is giving a rare insight into a secretive world of geishas, opening a small window onto a world shrouded in mystery and often misunderstood, and at the same time providing inspiration for teenagers thinking about following in her footsteps. Kamishichiken is the oldest of the five entertainment areas in Kyoto, where there are estimated to be about 280 geiko and maiko compared to tens of thousands of geisha in Japan at their peak in the 1920s.

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